Recently I shared two separate posts from a high-profile pastor and the different reactions were fascinating. The first post read...
The goal of the Gospel is not to affirm you, celebrate you, and accept you. The goal of the Gospel is to rescue you, transform you, and redirect you. (Shane Pruitt)
It's a good little nugget of truth. In our culture, being a scriptural Christian is difficult because of our society's focus on "what you can be" and "what you can do". It's worth stopping and noting, from time to time, that the point of the Gospel isn't a matter of what Christ adds to your existing life, but how he totally transforms it.
It's a good message. I received a few "likes" on the post and that was about the end of it. I came across another one of Shane Pruitt's quotes which appeared to basically push the same theme, except it approached it from the perspective of parental roles. It took the more generic, abstract thought of "the Gospel" being about transformation and redirection, then it made it tangible in a way parents could directly apply it to their lives.
parents, one day our children will also stand before King Jesus, and He'll care little about their grades, batting averages, 3-point percentages, yards per carry, popularity, college transcripts, or class rank. how are we investing in their souls? the one thing He cares about. (Shane Pruitt)
Suddenly the warm-fuzzy message Shane shared previously now comes across a bit more abrasive. It might even be offensive... but why? All he did was take generic statements about the Gospel transforming and redirecting your life, and suggested that it might also transform and redirect your kids' lives (or how we parent them).
Here is where we land at an inconvenient reality of modern American religion: Christians are happy to have a theoretical God who stands for generally nice things, divine principles, and warm feelings. Suddenly the exact same God becomes a nuisance in our lives the second we take our "Jesus theory" and are forced to apply it.
It is no wonder why James talks about the importance of being a Christian in action and not just in theory...
But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25)
The moment we are saved, many of us experience feelings... the joy, the love, the compassion... afforded by Christ. We relish in that spirit and want to stay there forever. Jesus, however, does not intend on us to stand on that mountaintop forever. At some point we have to mix again with the rest of a lost and broken world. The question before us is whether we will remember the image of God in those moments, the image we have been transformed to reflect, or are we going to stick around in our same, old lives making the same old decisions with the same old priorities? At some point, if our faith is worth it's salt, we have to make Jesus theory into more than just pretty concepts; it's transformative power must be proven in our lives.
If our God is powerful enough to die for our sins, but not powerful enough to cause us to reprioritize our lives, then how powerful of a God can he be?
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